


Les Amis de Kalos

by espetrell



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-01
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-03 03:13:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1065089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/espetrell/pseuds/espetrell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras and Grantaire travel Kalos together, fighting Team Flare and bickering about politics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone on Tumblr [suggested this AU](http://skylordkenobi.tumblr.com/post/65704976165/pokemon-x-and-y-are-set-in-pokemon-france-and-ive) and, because I am a huge fan of both franchises, I felt obligated to write it.
> 
> I tried to keep the plot as similar to the plot of Pokemon XY as possible, so if you played the game/s, a lot of this will be familiar to you. If you didn't, I hope this still makes sense.

Grantaire stood in the middle of his new living room, surveying the house. He and his mother had just moved to Kalos, and she could not be more excited. Grantaire was not nearly as excited as her, even less so when the doorbell rang.

"Must be the neighbors!" His mother squealed, ignoring the way Grantaire's face sunk into a frown. "Go get the door, honey!"

"Fine, fine," Grantaire grumbled as he stumbled towards the door. He'd heard that people from Kalos were total assholes, so wasn't too interested in schmoozing with the neighbors. He opened the door, blinked at the sudden light, and stopped short in surprise.

"Hi, neighbor!" said the boy at the door. His blond hair was shining in the late morning sun, his eyes were bright blue, his cheeks were flushed, and he was generally a hot piece of ass.

"Um," Grantaire said, "Hi?"

"I'm Enjolras!" Enjolras said, "I live next door! What's your name?"

"I figured," Grantaire replied, "And I'm Grantaire."

"Nice to meet you, Grantaire! Professor Sycamore asked me and my friends to do a favor for him. We need one more person, though. Would you like to join in?"

"Sure," said Grantaire with a shrug. Vaniville Town was pretty, well, vanilla, so there wasn't much to do. Might as well tag along with a total hottie and see what Professor Sycamore (who, if his mom was right, also a total hottie) wanted, right? He ran back inside, told his mom he would be out, grabbed his bag, and joined Enjolras. Together, they began to walk to Route 1.

"So, what's the favor?" Grantaire asked after a while.

"Hm? Oh! I don’t know yet," Enjolras replied, "The Professor sent Combeferre a Holo Clip with all the information we'll need. I haven't seen it though."

Grantaire was about to ask another question when he and Enjolras passed under the archway at Aquacorde's entrance. Enjolras searched around for a moment, then gave a cry of triumph and pointed towards a group of boys sitting around a flimsy metal table.

"There they are!" he said excitedly, picking up his pace to reach the group quicker. Grantaire hurried to catch up.

"Hey there, Enjolras!" one of them cried, "Who's that?"

"Hey guys!" Enjolras greeted them, pulling over two more chairs for himself and Grantaire. "This is my new neighbor Grantaire. Do you know his mom's the Rhyhorn racer Grace?"

Grantaire stifled a groan – he _hated_ it when everyone made a big deal about his mom's fame – but to his relief none of the boys overreacted. The biggest reaction he got was a boy in elaborate pigtails squealing, "Sweet!"

"So, Courfeyrac," sighed another boy, "What are we even doing here anyways?"

The one who was presumably named Courfeyrac answered, "Professor Sycamore said he needs 9 Trainers to help him fill up the Pokédex! Combeferre?"

The person on Courfeyrac's other side pulled out a stack of Pokédexes and passed them around the table as Courfeyrac continued, "We all get to go on a trip around Kalos, catching all the Pokémon! Since we're already going, we could become trainers and challenge Gym Leaders while we're at it!"

"Um, this might be a stupid question," Grantaire broke in, "but how are we going to be trainers without Pokémon? Unless you guys already have Pokémon, I mean…"

"Not a stupid question at all!" Courfeyrac assured him, "Professor Sycamore has been so kind as to provide us all with our very own Pokémon!"

That got a reaction from the group, and anything else Courfeyrac might have tried to say was lost in excited chatter. Combeferre opened all of the Pokéballs, one by one, and out came all of Eevee's evolutions, Eevee included.

"I guess we get to choose which one we want ourselves," Combeferre said with a pleased smile.

A frantic five minutes were spent choosing Pokémon. Enjolras took a Flareon, which he said "burned with the fire of revolution," whatever that meant. Courfeyrac wanted the Jolteon, but had trouble catching it – it was running laps around the table in pure athletic energy. The Vaporeon took an immediate liking to Combeferre, as did the Sylveon to the boy with the pigtails, who turned out to be named Jehan. Two other boys who Grantaire understood to be called Joly and Bossuet (he wasn't sure which was which because they were always mentioned together) took Leafeon and Glaceon. Bahorel and Feuilly couldn't decide, and had to figure out who took Umbreon and who took Espeon with an intense rock-paper-scissors game. This, of course, left Grantaire with the Eevee.

"Hey, little guy," Grantaire said, scooping his Pokémon into its arms and scratching it behind the ears. It cooed with pleasure, and Grantaire couldn't resist a smile. It was hardly its fault that out of all the choices, it was kind of the shittiest, and Grantaire silently swore never to say so in front of it.

"Oh! That's right!" Jehan said suddenly, attracting everyone's attention. "Did everyone get that weird-ass Holo Clip from the man with the terrible hair?"

"I DID!" shouted Enjolras with what seemed like unnecessary vitriol, "Can you all believe it?"

"No, we can't," Feuilly shouted back, "because we didn't all see it."

"Touché," Enjolras answered, pulling out his Holo Caster, "Here, watch it."

Everyone gathered around Enjolras as he played a Clip from his Caster. Grantaire was shorter than most of the others, so only caught most of the man's weird rant about making everyone in the world happy by fucking _killing_ everyone who didn't join his "Team Flare". What the _fuck_.

"What the fuck?" Grantaire asked the others, but none of them seemed to have any idea what the man had meant. Enjolras was looking back and forth to try and find someone with the correct amount of indignant anger, and though all of the others looked properly horrified to Grantaire, Enjolras was not satisfied.

"How dare he?" Enjolras fumed, "It's ridiculous to say that the only way to have happiness in the world is to kill, like, 90% of us! How'd this guy even get a Kalos-wide broadcast?"

"He's got a point," Grantaire said, because it had been a whole 10 minutes without him accidentally making a fool of himself in front of the hot guy. When Enjolras gave him an inevitable glare, he tried to salvage the situation by continuing, "Many of society's problems do stem from too many people and too few resources."

Enjolras lit up, and the resigned faces of his friends told Grantaire that Enjolras might be talking passionately for a long, long time.

"Regardless, it's ludicrously cynical to claim that the only solution to inequality is eugenics."

Grantaire had to laugh.

"If cynicism isn't your cup of tea, how would you propose promoting world happiness?"

Grantaire hadn't thought Enjolras could look more enthused, but he was proved wrong when Enjolras' eyes almost started sparkling with emotion, animé-style. Combeferre, who was seated next to him, actually started to facepalm.

"Don't encourage him, Grantaire," Courfeyrac groaned.

"Fine, fine, I'll spare you the five-point plan," Enjolras sighed, perturbed, "Still, we should try to deal with that bastard when we get the chance."

"How do we even know we'll cross paths with him?" Bahorel pointed out.

"We'll make sure we do!" Enjolras insisted, "He must be stopped!"

"By us?" Grantaire couldn't help asking.

"Of course!" Enjolras practically gasped, as though Grantaire had asked something unreasonable, "If we train hard and become the best Trainers we can be, we can definitely defeat a dick like that guy!"

"We're not going to be the best Trainers if we sit here arguing ideology all day," Joly said, pushing back his chair and standing up, "I, for one, would like to start getting Pokémon in my Pokédex."

"I'll come with you," Bossuet added, following him, "See you guys later!"

And with that, the gang began to break up. Some went back to Vaniville to say goodbye to their parents, some went to buy Pokéballs, others went out to Route 2. Eventually, only Enjolras and Grantaire were left at the table.

"Hey, Grantaire?" Enjolras said, distracting Grantaire from feeding Poképuffs to his Eevee.

"What is it?"

"I know no one else wanted to talk politics right now, but I want to know what you wanted to say. Would you like to come along with me?" Enjolras asked hesitantly.

"Certainly!" Grantaire said, jumping up. The chance to travel all of Kalos with his brand-new Eevee and the attractive yet politically aware Enjolras? That sounded like an adventure he would be happy to embark on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Wow," I said to myself, "I wonder why no one's reading this fic?"
> 
> "Maybe it's because you FORGOT TO POST THE NEXT CHAPTER," came the reply.
> 
> Sorry, folks! Here it is! We finally meet Lysandre, as well as Cosette and Marius. Lysandre's lines are all from the original game, and Cosette's are paraphrased, with more cuss words, because Lysandre is an ass and someone needed to tell him so.

The gang had all agreed to meet up in Lumiose City to check in on each other's progress, and so at sunset, group members began trickling into Café Soleil. First to arrive was Jehan, who pulled a couple tables together despite death glares from the proprietor. Joly and Bossuet came next, followed by the rest of the group. Enjolras and Grantaire were the only ones who had not yet arrived when Bahorel leaned back in his chair and asked, "So, how're you all doing with your Pokémon adventures?"

"I already caught 24 Pokémon!" Joly exclaimed, waving his Pokédex in excitement.

"Me and Gym Leader Viola really hit it off!" Jehan told the group, "She showed me how to work my camera, and I've been shooting _everywhere_!"

"That's all well and good," Bossuet said, leaning forward with a conspiratory smile, "What _I_ want to talk about is Enjolras and Grantaire."

"Oh, is this going to be gossip central now?" Feuilly sighed.

"Just really quick, before they come in," Courferyac said, "Ooh! Have you _seen_ them?"

"Oh my _god_ ," Bahorel squealed, clapping his hands together, "They bicker like an old married couple! The _tension_! The –"

Bahorel stopped mid-sentence as the front door opened. No one actually walked through the door, but loud voices could be heard from the other side.

"I simply can _not_ understand your indifference!"

"It's not that I don't care, you… you dolt! It's that I don’t understand why you think that a bunch of teens with just a couple badges are supposed to 'smash the unacceptable class divide!'"

"Wonder who _that_ could be," Joly murmured in Bossuet's ear, eliciting a chuckle.

"I think that a _group_ of _passionate reformers_ who don't _sit on their ass and complain without solving anything­_ can achieve change!"

Grantaire finally remembered he was holding the door open and entered, Enjolras behind him and still arguing snappishly.

"Look, Grantaire, what I've been saying is if we want to see life improving for the poorest of us, we can't let the responsibility go to others! We have to take on that responsibility ourselves!"

"Hi, guys," Courfeyrac said loudly, distracting Enjolras and Grantaire's attention.

"Hey," Enjolras said, sitting down with the others, "Can you believe that _Grantaire thinks ­–_ "

"Have any of you caught an Abra yet?" Combeferre interrupted, "I saw one, and I really want an Alakazam so I got excited, but then it escaped."

"You saw one? I didn't see any," Jehan said, almost yelling, "How interesting!"

"We get it, we get it," Grantaire grumbled, "How've you all been?"

"Nothing much to report," Feuilly said with a shrug, "Except I did meet a dude from Team Flare."

"What do you mean?!" Bahorel gasped, mirroring the shock and interest of the others, "That's important! What did they say?"

"They tried to sell me that I could join Team Flare and not die when they bring about the death of everyone not in their group. Joining Team Flare, by the way, would cost me _five million_."

"What the hell?" Enjolras fumed, "That's so obviously classist! Who can pay 5 mil for that?"

" _Enjolras_ ," Grantaire groaned, "They want to kill everyone, and you're horrified at the _price_?"

"Grantaire's got a point, Enjolras," Combeferre said as Enjolras directed a scowl at him, "But seriously, what the fuck? Who's in their stupid group anyways?"

"This guy was such a dick," Feuilly laughed, "Thought he was the shit. Didn't think so once me and my Espeon showed him how real Trainers battle."

The group stopped their speculation again when the door opened again and more people walked in. Two of them were not people Grantaire recognized, but one of them definitely was. Jehan had been right – Lysandre's hair _was_ terrible.

Enjolras looked like he was about to bust a vein from fury, even more so when Lysandre waved at them and cheerily greeted them, "Ah! Hello, boys! Aren't you the Trainers that Professor Sycamore was telling me about? The ones with the Pokédexes?"

"Um, yeah," Courfeyrac said uneasily, "And you are…?"

"Lysandre!" Lysandre said proudly, "Of Lysandre Labs! We make Holo Casters, just like yours!"

"Is that so," Joly said flatly.

"Pleased to meet you all," Lysandre said, then turned towards his companions and continued, "Do you all know these fine people? This is accomplished movie star Cosette and her husband Marius."

"Hello," Marius said, sounding as awkward as they all felt.

Cosette, unfazed, asked Lysandre, "So, what were you talking about just now?"

"Ah! Cosette," Lysandre began, "You played a young girl so wonderfully on the silver screen. Wouldn't you rather remain young and beautiful forever and always play such roles?"

"The fuck?" Cosette asked with an incredulous laugh, "Like, not really? Why would I want to play the same roles forever? Youth is great and all, but it's not all it's cracked up to be."

Undeterred, Lysandre pressed on, "You were chosen to be a movie star, correct? Isn't it your duty to be ever beautiful?" Then, without waiting for an answer, Lysandre sighed and stared off into the distance. He said, more to himself than to anyone, "I would make this world unchanging and eternal. So all beauty would last forever."

"…Okay," Cosette responded slowly, "That was the most weirdly sexist thing I've heard all week, and I work in entertainment. Don't you have other people to rant at?"

Lysandre retreated, grumbling but for some reason afraid to challenge her. Cosette turned to the baffled group of boys, who had been too confused to speak up on Cosette's behalf. Not that she had needed any help, of course.

"Hello, guys. Do you happen to be friends with that creep?"

"Oh, no!" Enjolras hastened to assure her, "We hate his guts. I dunno why he's being so friendly. Bet he wants us to join his weird post-Rapture club for rich assholes."

"What the fuck?" Cosette laughed, "Hope I never see him again. You're all Trainers, right? I'm a Trainer myself, in my off time. I look forward to battling you someday!"

She left the café, but Marius lingered behind to tell them, "That's bullshit. She's actually the Champion, one of the best there is. And she works it into her acting schedule. Incredible."

"Some girlfriend you've got there," Courfeyrac said with respect and maybe a hint of jealousy.

"She sure is," Marius said dreamily, "See you around!"

And with that, Marius left. The group sat in silence for a while until Grantaire said, "Well, that was certainly eventful."

"What is even that bastard's problem?" Enjolras said heatedly. "Duty!"

"It's time we were off," Feuilly said, looking at his watch. The others nodded in agreement and began saying goodbyes, returning the tables to their original positions, and discussing their next meeting. Enjolras wasn't paying a terribly large amount of attention, still fuming over Lysandre.

"I will not _rest_ until I have stopped that asshole from fucking everyone up!" he declared.

"That's nice, Enjolras," Grantaire replied, "Now do you want to keep going or not?"

"Alright, fine," Enjolras said, jumping up, "But you have to explain your position on popular participation in politics while we walk."

"It's a deal," Grantaire said, and together they exited the café, already beginning an argument.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who has played Pokemon X or Y knows that even though the villain wants to destroy the world, the WORST injustice in the game is that the Lumiose City Boutique stocks clothes meant for the opposite gender but won't let you buy them. This is obviously a travesty I would not let pass unnoticed. Also, gender non-conforming Enjolras is my lifeblood. So there's that.

Grantaire was happy to be back in Lumiose City, especially because Enjolras had agreed to go on a quick sight-seeing tour around the city. He'd only been here once, with his mom, before they decided to move to Kalos. Enjolras and Grantaire peeked into cafés and shops, checked in on Professor Sycamore (not as hot as Grantaire's mother had claimed), and stopped to hang out in all the plazas. Back on Vernal Avenue, Grantaire and Enjolras strolled along, carrying coffees from Shutterbug Café, where they'd bumped into Jehan again.

"Wait, hold up!" Enjolras said, pulling on Grantaire's arm, "We didn't go in there yet!"

Grantaire followed Enjolras' gaze. "What, the Boutique? Why do you want to go in there?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe I'll want something in there. Come on!"

Enjolras entered the Boutique, Grantaire following behind. They were stopped by one of the workers, who eyed the two boys with suspicion. She looked them both up and down, taking in Enjolras' smart red jacket and Grantaire's ratty jeans.

"Hello there, young man," she greeted Enjolras, "You seem to have enough class to enter. I don't know about your friend, though…"

"Excuse me?" Enjolras snapped furiously. Grantaire started to back away, but Enjolras grabbed his arm with a viselike grip. Obviously this was an issue he was not about to drop.

"Grantaire is with me," Enjolras challenged, staring down the woman, "If you kick him out, I don't plan on shopping here."

The woman stepped aside with a snobbish sniff, allowing the two to pass. Enjolras, surprisingly, followed the signs that said that the boys' section was upstairs. He had only stepped on the first step when he happened to look over at what was on the girls' racks.

"Ooh," he murmured in interest. Grantaire only noticed him speak at all because he was standing right next to him. Following his gaze, Grantaire noticed a bright red trench coat on the rack.

" _Oooh_ ," Enjolras repeated, eyes locked on the coat. The shopkeeper woman, who still had her eyes on Enjolras and had apparently decided she didn't like him, called from her place by the door, "Boys are only allowed to shop in the _boys'_ section upstairs."

"Oh," said Enjolras quietly, and began to climb the stairs.

"No, I'm sorry," Grantaire said. The shopkeeper was being altogether too rude for someone whose job was supposed to be helping customers, and Enjolras had, for once, decided not to stand up for himself, so he felt obligated to intervene. He smiled pleasantly at her and said, "I don't think you understand the situation, ma'am. Enjolras here wants to get his twin sister a present for her birthday –"

"Oh, of course, of course!" The woman said, suddenly polite, "Go look in the dressing room."

"Thank you!" Grantaire said, walking back down the steps with Enjolras.

" _Thank you,_ " Enjolras whispered with a radiant smile. Grantaire felt as though he was glowing with warmth.

"My pleasure," Grantaire whispered back. Enjolras disappeared into the dressing room. Grantaire amused himself by trying on some hats while he waited for Enjolras. After a couple minutes, he re-emerged, wearing the coat, which was fitted him perfectly.

"Man, it's a good thing your sister is the same height as you, because that looks _great_ ," Grantaire told him, and Enjolras started, apparently having forgotten the ruse with the sister.

"If you want it, that'll be 300 thousand," the woman said, and the shy smile on Enjolras' face immediately dropped in horror. Grantaire whistled in surprise.

"Do you have the money, Enjolras?"

"Yeah, I do…" Enjolras still looked unsure of himself.

"Then get it, if you like – if you think your sister will really like it."

Enjolras looked torn for a moment, then brightened and said, "Let me look at it in the mirror for a second." He disappeared behind the curtain, then came back out and said, "I'm buying."

He gave the money to a coworker of the shopkeeper and left with Grantaire.

"That coat cost a fortune, but I'm glad you like –" Grantaire said, but stopped midsentence when Enjolras began to giggle suspiciously.

"300 thousand is way too much for a coat, but it seemed reasonable for a coat, a shirt, a vest, _and_ a tie," Enjolras said with a giggle, shedding his coat to reveal all the other clothes he'd worn under it. It was quite a nice ensemble, and probably would have cost half a million had Enjolras bought it.

"Enjolras!" Grantaire gasped, "You didn't!"

"Oh, don't make a fuss about me compromising my morals or make fun of me for buying girls' clothes or something of that sort."

"No, not at all!" Grantaire assured him, rather alarmed how uncomfortable Enjolras looked in anticipation of Grantaire's perceived criticism, "I'm rather impressed, actually. Nice job!"

"Oh, thank goodness," Enjolras sighed in relief, putting the coat back on, "I have to thank you again. I don't know why I never thought of the twin sister thing."

"No problem, really," Grantaire told him. "I meant what I said before. That coat really suits you."

"Really?" Enjolras asked, grinning happily. Grantaire remembered the quiet resignation with which he'd accepted the ban on shopping in the girls' section when he had been so insistent on making the shopkeeper let Grantaire in. With this in mind, he smiled back at Enjolras as sincerely as he could.

"Really."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't play X and Y, this chapter needs explaining. Because the Kalos region is supposed to be France, they put an exact replica of Versailles (Parfum Castle) next to Lumiose City and included a king in the plot. Just that would be grounds for including that part of the story into this fic, but it also had the gayest thing ever to happen. Enjolras' awkward fireworks speech is directly from Shauna, as is the "Yeesh! This is how the rich get richer!" line. The "wonderfrou Furfrou" guy is just as annoying in the game.

"I'm still angry about this," Enjolras grumbled, scowling at the gilded walls of Parfum Palace as though they had personally wronged him.

"I'd noticed," Grantaire replied, bending over to study the painting before him intently.

"Look at that though! A painting glorifying the king! It's been 300 years! I can't understand why people will not only tolerate the perpetuation of monarchy, but pay to see it!"

Enjolras hadn't wanted to go to Parfum Palace at all, but Grantaire had urged him to go, saying it was part of Kalos' cultural heritage. It was, but Enjolras apparently didn't like Kalos' heritage much. The doorman who said that the castle owner's policy was that "you can never have too much money" was only the straw that broke the camel's back. Thankfully, Grantaire had managed to prevent Enjolras from saying anything more impolite than, "Yeesh! This is how the rich get richer!" But now Enjolras had declared a personal vendetta against Parfum Palace, which was detracting from Grantaire's experience.

"If you had any appreciation for art and architecture, you would understand why people would pay to see this," Grantaire argued.

"I went to the Lumiose Museum once! I can appreciate art!" Enjolras retorted, "I just don't appreciate art created by a despotic ruler!"

Their argument, which could easily have lasted the rest of the day, was cut short by a portly man bursting through the door and panting, "Hey! You! Help me find my wonderfrou Furfrou, please!"

"Oh, alright," Grantaire said, finally abandoning the painting.

"Thank you," the man said before leaving.

Enjolras immediately hissed, "We can't help him! Don't you know him? He's the castle owner! People say he's a descendant of the king!"

"Doesn't mean his Furfrou doesn't need finding," Grantaire retorted, "Come on, let's look."

With minimal grumbling, Enjolras came along, and they eventually chased the Furfrou down to the winding hedge maze of a garden. The man came to pick it up, babbling about a "wonderfrou fireworks display," and left with his Pokémon.

"I understand why that Furfrou would want to run away," Enjolras growled.

"Oh, give it a rest," Grantaire said, "We at least got a fireworks display out of it. Let's go up to the balcony to see it."

Even Enjolras had to admit that the view from the balcony was spectacular. The gardens of Parfum Palace stretched out beneath them, with its larger-than-life statues of Zekrom and Reshiram towering above the loitering gardeners and tourists. They did not look for long, though, because soon the fireworks began.

"Wow," Grantaire whispered, taking in the bursting colors and lights. Glancing over to see if Enjolras had any vicious arguments about fireworks in store, Grantaire noticed that Enjolras looked thoughtful and kept throwing glances his way. He turned when Enjolras cleared his throat to speak.

"Um…" Enjolras started, oddly hesitant, "You know… I've never watched fireworks like this. Alone. Well, not alone, with another boy, but… These fireworks are quite special, Grantaire. Partly because, well, I'm watching them with you. I really hope we get to be… good friends."

"Um. Thanks," Grantaire said slowly, unable to help noticing Enjolras' blush or the way he was fiddling with the strap of his bag. There were many, many possibilities for what Enjolras could mean by that, and he was sure that all of the best ones were wild conjectures. He _had_ to be reading into what Enjolras had said. No one could possibly flirt so awkwardly, not even Enjolras. But Grantaire figured, hey, no harm, no foul, he might as well _ask,_ and so he –

"And that was my wonderfrou fireworks show for my Furfrou!" the portly heir hollered from the entrance to the balcony. Enjolras completely lost his cool and began blushing furiously.

"Forget it. Just forget – forget I said anything. God – god _damn_ it, I hate that guy _so much_ ," Enjolras hissed in mortification. Grantaire gritted his teeth in fury as the man prattled on about his _stupid_ fireworks and his _stupid_ Furfrou and _damnit_ , they'd been having a _moment_ and that bastard _ruined it_. If Grantaire hadn't been convinced before, he definitely was now. _Fuck the monarchy._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, plot!

Enjolras and Grantaire had just arrived at Anistar City when the Holo Cast came.

"Oh? What's this?" Enjolras asked as his Holo Caster buzzed in his pocket. As he and Grantaire pulled out their Holo Casters to watch the message, they noticed other people digging into their bags, frowning in confusion. Apparently this was a broadcast for everybody. Their worst fears were confirmed when the image of Lysandre appeared before them, and he began to speak:

"Pokemon Trainers. I come to you by the Holo Caster to make an important announcement. Listen well. Team Flare will revive the ultimate weapon, eliminate everyone who isn't in our group, and return the world to a beautiful, natural state. Unproductive fools are consuming our future... If nothing changes, the world will become ugly and conflicts will raze the land from end to end. I'm sorry, those of you who are not members of Team Flare, but this is adieu to you all."

The holographic image flickered and disappeared. After a moment of heavy silence, Enjolras looked up and met Grantaire's gaze, eyes burning with deadly seriousness.

"We can't let him do this. Let's put an end to this, you and I."

Grantaire gave him a sharp nod of assent. "I bet he's headquartered at Café Lysandre."

Enjolras pulled out his bike and, followed by Grantaire, he streaked out of the Anistar City gates.

Entering the Café Lysandre, awash in Team Flare's signature red, Enjolras and Grantaire were stopped by a waitress and waiter.

"We won't let you enter the secret passageway to Lysandre Labs!" the waitress declared, whipping out a Pokéball. Her partner punched her in the shoulder and hissed, "Dumbass!"

"Thanks for the hint," Grantaire said, walking past her.

"We literally have no time for you, so please get out of the way before my Flareon whoops your ass," Enjolras added, already pushing open the really conspicuous secret door pretending to be a bookshelf. The two trainers ran inside, ignoring the waitress' cry of, "Stop right there!"

They tumbled out of the dark passageway into the dim red light of the lair and nearly crashed right into Lysandre himself. Before either could say anything, Lysandre said, "Saving the lives of all is impossible. Only the chosen ones will obtain a ticket to tomorrow. Do you want to have a ticket? Or do you want to stop me?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Enjolras growled. Lysandre smirked infuriatingly.

"Then show me in battle."

"What, both of us?" Grantaire asked in alarm, "Are you kidding?"

"Shouldn't be too difficult," Lysandre replied, pulling out two Pokéballs.

"Your funeral," Enjolras said, sending out his Flareon. Grantaire let out his Eevee.

"An Eevee? Are you even trying?" Lysandre laughed, his Mienfoo and Gyarados already out. He wasn't laughing when Eevee's Swift attack took down Gyarados in one hit. It was not long at all before the combined force of Enjolras' and Grantaire's Pokémon took down all of Lysandre's Pokémon.

"You are here to stop me," Lysandre said, calling back his last Pokémon, "But I ask you to wait."

"Literally, why would we do that," Grantaire asked, but Lysandre kept going regardless.

"I tried to save people – and the world – with the profit from this lab. But my efforts had no effect. The world was just too vast … and too full of fools that I couldn't save through my hard work alone. That's why I decided the only way to save the world was to take it all for myself."

"Are you literally even listening to the shit coming out of your mouth?" Enjolras snarled.

"I don't expect that I will ever make you understand how I think and feel," Lysandre said with a long-suffering sigh, "Try to stop the ultimate weapon if you must, but to do so, you will have to find it."

Lysandre then swirled around, coat swishing in his wake, and disappeared down an elevator. Enjolras and Grantaire exchanged a questioning glance, the question being "How the hell are we supposed to find the 'ultimate weapon,' whatever that is?"

"Well, we've got to _try_ ," Enjolras said.

"We better have enough Full Restores for this," Grantaire said.

"I'm glad you agree."

Grantaire had never quite understood why defeating someone in a Pokémon battle meant they had to do whatever you want, and he did not appreciate the stress it was putting on his Pokémon as they battled through Lysandre Labs. Their only respite had been in the room they had entered that had turned out to be full of beds. The only grunt inside had told Enjolras that they wished they could break dress code to wear sweet red coats like his. Grantaire had thanked Arceus for having encouraged him to buy that coat back at the Boutique.

The one good thing about the weird battling code of honor was that once the admins were defeated, they were suddenly willing to tell Enjolras and Grantaire everything about their plans.

"The stones by Geosenge City will steal the energy for us and power the ultimate weapon!" the green admin told them. The blue admin just straight up gave them her elevator key, then mentioned off-hand that they were also fueling the ultimate weapon with Kalos' Legendary Pokémon.

"Are you shitting me!?" Enjolras hissed once she was out of hearing range. "Did she mean Xerneas _and_ Yveltal? Are they nuts?"

"We already know they're nuts," Grantaire retorted, "Just not _that_ nuts."

With the newly-acquired elevator key, Enjolras and Grantaire descended into the lair further, where they found Lysandre again. This time, however, he was not alone.

"Aren't you…" Enjolras gasped, staring in shock at the man behind bars, who was easily 8 feet tall, if not more. The man bowed his head. Even Grantaire, who was not as knowledgeable about Kalos mythology as Enjolras, knew who he was. This could only be one man – the king who had created the ultimate weapon himself, almost 3000 years ago. Enjolras was surprisingly not bursting in anti-monarchy fury, apparently having decided that he had other priorities at the moment.

"AZ," the man confirmed, voice rumbling impossibly deep. "Listen well, children. The ultimate weapon must not be used. Everything will vanish again."

"Your words are meaningless," Lysandre said, pulling a remote out from his pocket, "I already have the power to activate the ultimate weapon right… now."

He looked up with a smirk at the horrified stares of Enjolras and Grantaire. "It's done."


	6. Chapter 6

Grantaire really, really wished there was some way he could have been prepared for the ultimate weapon before he arrived. The huge contraption of crystal and metal had completely wrecked the ground around it, toppling the buildings in an absurd display. The whole town was also eerily empty of people or Pokémon; Grantaire could only hope that was because they had evacuated. He didn't want to think about the alternative. He was forced to abandon his fears by Enjolras, who was already making a beeline for a far-off Team Flare member who was blocking off a small side road. By the time Grantaire caught up, Enjolras had already made short work of his Scrafty. The road lead to a stone monument with a door inside, which took the two trainers down an elevator to a wide-open laboratory. The working grunts paid Enjolras and Grantaire little mind as they purposely strode ahead towards Lysandre, who had somehow beat them to the headquarters and was now moodily contemplating a wide window. In the chamber behind the window, Grantaire could just make out two dark forms floors below them.

"The ultimate weapon has finally emerged," Lysandre said, eyes still locked on whatever was on the other side of the glass, "Isn't its beauty captivating? As we speak, it draws its energy from the Legendary Pokémon. The only way to create a world where people live in beauty, a world without conflict, is to reduce the number of living things."

"Well, what about Pokémon?" Enjolras demanded, "Why must they suffer for your ridiculous eugenics plan?"

At his words, Lysandre actually started to cry perfect sparkly tears, which conclusively proved to Grantaire that something was terribly wrong with him.

"Pokémon… shall no longer exist. They are wonderful creatures, but they will inevitably become tools," Lysandre said, as calmly as if tears weren't running down his cheeks, "But enough of this. You want to stop the ultimate weapon, and I refuse to do so. It's too late. Go down to the lowest floor if you want to see for yourself."

Neither Enjolras nor Grantaire had any doubts about what to do next. They ran past Lysandre and down flight after flight of stairs until they spilled out into the cavernous hall that held the Legendary Pokémon. That was what Grantaire had to assume, because all he could see were metal cages holding a withered tree and a large ball. He supposed they might be the Pokémon in hibernation. Or something.

"Just like in the myths," said Enjolras, eyes wide with wonder. At least _he_ knew what they were.

Grantaire stepped closer to the base of the prison holding the ball, which on closer inspection looked like a bird-like Pokémon wrapped up into itself. A meter at eye level read, "Energy Acquisition: 99% Complete."

"Well, fuck," Grantaire said, stepping back, "How do we shut this down?"

Before Enjolras could answer, the cage with the tree shuddered and began to shake. With a girlish screech that would have been hilarious in any other circumstances, he jumped back. The other cage began to shake as well, and the Pokémon within the two prisons began to glow.

"Either that means they got all the energy, or…" Grantaire shouted over the now deafening rumbling, punctuated by the occasional screech from the Legendary Pokémon. He had to cover his eyes when the glow became blinding, and his eardrums nearly ruptured when a loud whine began to build. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the noise and light disappeared completely. He dropped his hand from his eyes and stared.

The bars of the cage swung loose and broken, and from them had emerged the two Legendary Pokémon. Xerneas and Yveltal were just as Grantaire had seen them in an ancient book of mythology his mother had used to read him before bedtime, but no illustration could accurately portray the sheer scale of the creatures. Enjolras was one of the tallest people Grantaire knew, and even he just about reached Xerneas' knee. Xerneas gave its neck a little shake, seemingly pleased to be free of its shackles, and Yveltal was similarly flapping its wings, the gusts of wind from which almost knocked Grantaire off his feet. Once the Pokémon had calmed down, their interest was caught by the two Trainers in front of them. Yveltal landed on the ground in front of Grantaire, making the ground shake underneath him, and he finally lost balance and tipped over backwards. Before he knew what was happening, a broad wing caught his back and pushed him back onto his feet.

"The fuck?" Grantaire gasped, looking up at Yveltal's terrifying beak, "Thanks, Yveltal."

"I think…" Enjolras said slowly, petting the nose that Xerneas extended in his direction, "I think they want to be… friends?"

"What do you think, guys?" Grantaire said, inwardly baffled that he was addressing almost-immortal, all-powerful beings like they were best buds, "Do you want to be our friends? Partners?"

Xerneas lifted its head away from Enjolras' hand, leaning down to nudge his bag. Flareon's Premier Ball bounced out, but so did the Master Ball Enjolras had been given by the head of the Pokéball Factory. Enjolras and Grantaire both stared at it, taking a moment to process what had just happened.

"Are you sure, Xerneas?" Enjolras asked weakly, picking up the Master Ball and holding it high.

With a decisive tap, Xerneas opened the Master Ball with his nose. With a _whoosh_ , he disappeared inside. Enjolras gazed at the small purple ball in his hands as Grantaire locked eyes with Yveltal, who tipped his head to the side as if to say, "Well, do you have one of those?"

As it happened, Grantaire did, but since the Pokémon were being so nice he figured he might as well use the Luxury Ball he'd bought, so he took it out and caught Yveltal with it. Enjolras and Grantaire were left alone to contemplate what the hell had just happened – but not for long.

"What a startling development! I never would have taken you two to be chosen ones!"

Enjolras and Grantaire didn't even have to turn around to know that the voice was Lysandre's, but they did anyways. He had had a wardrobe change since they last saw him and was now decked out with weird mechanical arms coming out of something on his back. It was difficult to imagine he had designed it _without_ supervillainy in mind.

"So these are the mighty Legendaries?" Lysandre scoffed, "Desiring help from people?"

"Oh, just fuck off!" Grantaire yelled, "We beat you at least twice!"

"For me, victory is using the ultimate weapon. In order to do that, I need to reclaim the Legendary Pokémon's power. I'll be taking those back now."

"They aren't yours to take!" Enjolras snapped, red with fury, "They chose to stay with us! They're awake now, and they will not leave us without a fight! You cannot win this!"

Lysandre froze. Grantaire, glad that he'd finally shut up for once, almost didn't notice him begin to shake with fury. Suddenly, Lysandre gave a bellow of fury, ripped his shutter shades off his face and threw them at the ground, where they skidded to Enjolras' feet.

"Fools with no vision will continue to befoul this beautiful world. They will go on until the only thing left to do is squabble over the remaining scraps of hope," Lysandre screamed.

"You know what I think?" Enjolras asked, "Even if something is in short supply, it's still best to share it. What else is a Pokémon battle, other than sharing power between trainer and Pokémon?"

"You want to make the world better by taking all the responsibility on yourself," Grantaire added, "But if everyone works together, we can all make the world a better place."

"If that were possible, all wars would have ended long ago!" Lysandre countered. Then his expression of anguish cleared slightly, and he said, "When the Legendaries awoke, they took back much of their energy… There's not much power left. But there IS enough to use it once."

Lysandre, having reached his inner decision, punched a fist in the air and yelled, "Chosen ones! I will not kill you! I'll give you the pain of endlessly waiting for a beautiful world to finally be built!"

Lightning fast, he whipped out his remote and slammed on the button. Silence rang, then an earsplitting crash reverberated through the hall. Enjolras and Grantaire turned and ran for their lives.


	7. Chapter 7

"Run! Run!" Enjolras screamed in terror as he pushed Grantaire up the steps in front of him. Grantaire would have thought Lysandre's words a strange, empty threat if the very walls of the headquarters weren't vibrating. They streaked up the steps, evading escaping Team Flare members.

"Where…he…he didn't come!" Enjolras panted, throwing a frantic glance over his shoulder.

"Wha…what?" Grantaire asked, tripping over a step as he tried to see what Enjolras was looking at. Enjolras immediately swooped down and grabbed Grantaire's hand, pulling him up. They immediately began to run again, hands still linked.

"Lysandre!" Enjolras shouted, "Lysandre didn't run! He's… still down there!"

"Eh… Enjolras! Are you kidding me?" Grantaire wheezed, "He was trying to kill us!"

"But does he deserve to _die_?"

"Let's focus on not dying ourselves!"

"What about all these other people?"

"They had a head start! They'll be … augh!" Grantaire screamed as a chunk of ceiling dislodged and crashed down where he had just been. Enjolras gripped his hand even tighter and pulled him ahead. More and more of the building began to disintegrate as they stumbled wearily up the steps. Just when Grantaire was sure he was going to die hand in hand with Enjolras, he spotted a shaft of light through the thick haze of sawdust blocking his vision.

"The door!" Enjolras gasped, then nearly doubled over coughing.

"We can't stop!" Grantaire implored, tugging on Enjolras' hand. With a last reserve of strength, the two stumbled out of the headquarters into the blinding light of day. Neither felt the need or energy to stand anymore, so they fell down together onto the grass and watched the building crumble to the ground, leaving a gaping crater in its wake.

When Grantaire managed to stop gasping for breath, he turned his head and looked at Enjolras, who had flopped over onto his back. His head was thrown back, and his hair was caked white with plaster and sticking up absolutely everywhere. Grantaire couldn't help laughing, and Enjolras glared at him, but with no anger, only fond exasperation.

"We did it, Enjolras!" Grantaire chuckled euphorically, "We didn't die."

At this Enjolras also burst into semi-hysteric giggles. Grantaire lay down beside him and laughed along, letting out the fear and adrenaline. As he calmed himself down, he became aware that his hand was still clenching Enjolras'. Both their hands were shaky and sweaty, but Grantaire wasn't quite ready to pull away just yet. As he was contemplating their hands, Enjolras suddenly rolled over and gazed into Grantaire's eyes. Grantaire was left breathless by the joy and relief dancing in his shining blue eyes.

Enjolras, oblivious, giggled, "We did it!"

"We did it," Grantaire parroted weakly. Then Enjolras let out another peal of laughter, lurched forward, and kissed Grantaire right on the mouth. Grantaire's first reaction was to gasp in surprise, which Enjolras took as a bad sign. Enjolras leaned back, blushing a deep red, and opened his mouth to apologize. Before he could say a single word, Grantaire leaned back in and returned the kiss. After a couple seconds of pure bliss, Enjolras pulled back with a frown. Grantaire briefly freaked out, envisioning worst-case scenarios of rejection and mockery, before Enjolras spoke.

"Is now the best time to be making out? I think we just indirectly caused a man's death."

Grantaire snorted incredulously. "Of _course_ your first thought is that us kissing might dishonor the death of the guy who just tried to kill us."

Enjolras rolled his eyes in lieu of a retort, which gave Grantaire time to start freaking out again.

"Um, that… that kiss just now," Grantaire stuttered lamely, "That wasn't just, like, adrenaline, right? Do you, I, uh…"

Here Grantaire faltered, unable to ask the question he wanted to ask. But Enjolras seemed to understand, because his expression of mock exasperation softened.

"Oh, Grantaire," Enjolras sighed, with a hint of a smirk, "Of _course_ you wouldn't have caught on that I'm absolutely _wild_ about you."

And for that, Grantaire had to kiss him again. But not for long – before they had gotten very far, a discreet cough made them break apart and look up. Combeferre and Courfeyrac were standing above them, stifling laughter. The two lovebirds sat up, blushing in embarrassment.

"Jeez, this place really got beat up," Courfeyrac said, glancing at the toppled houses in alarm.

"Although I really appreciate that you two finally broke the mindboggling sexual tension, is this really the right time for making out?" Combeferre added with eyebrows raised in disapproval.

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID," Enjolras hollered, while Grantaire simultaneously yelled, "ADRENALINE!"

"We almost _died_ , Combeferre!" Enjolras continued, gesturing broadly at the crater where Team Flare HQ had once stood.

"It was just, like, a 'wow, I'm so glad we didn’t die before kissing each other' kiss!" Grantaire said desperately, as Combeferre and Courfeyrac became unable to hide their giggles.

"Exactly!" Enjolras agreed, scowling at the now openly laughing Combeferre and Courfeyrac.

"You… you both look like _shit_ , though," gasped Courfeyrac, "Seriously, are you guys alright?"

"Fine, fine," Grantaire answered, "Just tired, shaken, and in need of a shower."

"Separately or together?" Courfeyrac asked, poking Combeferre in the side with an elbow. They both dissolved into laughter again, and Grantaire snapped his head around to see Enjolras' mortified expression. Almost more horrifically, Enjolras didn't look mortified at all. His expression could instead probably described as "blissfully daydreaming." If Grantaire was feeling optimistic, maybe "really horny."

" _Um._ " Grantaire said, not knowing how to deal with _that_ information.

"Now that we found out Enjolras gets off on danger, I have learned more than enough about his desires than I ever cared to," Combeferre said with a final chuckle. "I think I know a place where you can take that shower. Do you want me to help you up?"

Enjolras clasped Combeferre's hand with his free hand, and Grantaire took Courfeyrac's. They stumbled into standing positions. Together with Combeferre and Courfeyrac, they walked away from the ruins of Team Flare HQ, still holding hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally resolve the sexual tension and with that, the story's done! Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
